


daylight's still a long time coming

by catteo



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, grant ward is the toppiest bottom in history
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-03
Updated: 2015-05-03
Packaged: 2018-03-28 19:57:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3867883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catteo/pseuds/catteo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is sort of canonically post 2x19 if anyone actually cares about such things. What it ACTUALLY is consists of</p><p>The one where Ward's back on the team even though Coulson's apparently the only one who wants him there</p><p>And he and Skye are sent on a mission</p><p>As undercover lovers.</p><p>WHAT A GREAT TROPE.</p>
            </blockquote>





	daylight's still a long time coming

**Author's Note:**

> Featuring the return of Grant Ward: toppiest bottom in all the land and oral sex god.
> 
> As requested by several people who shall remain anonymous.
> 
> For now.

Everything is Coulson’s fault. Skye’s clear on that. He’s got secrets wrapped up in lies, wrapped up in more secrets. Nobody really knows what the hell’s going on any more, but they’ve got orders to follow and missions to complete and so she just puts her head down, her game face on, and does what she’s told. There’s a part of her that’s screaming that this isn’t right. Isn’t what she signed up for. Isn’t what she wants. But she’s made her choice. Picked her side. Given her loyalty to this man. And that’s what counts. Loyalty. Finishing the job.

 

 

She still can’t believe he brought Ward back with him.

 

 

And it’s not as though Skye can’t handle it. She can. She’s done nothing but prove it to herself again and again. That he means nothing to her. That she’s over him. She’s even used her powers in front of him so that he knows just how dangerous she can be. It’s just that the voice in her head -- the one that’s trying desperately to get her attention, telling her that she’s just blindly following orders -- is beginning to sound a lot like his. She refuses to give Ward the satisfaction of letting him know that there might just be a part of her that understands.

 

 

He makes them a team again. That’s the thing that _really_ pisses her off. They’ve all been trying for months to find some sort of common ground, but none of them seemed to be able to fully commit to it. Straight after the mission in the Arctic, the one where they worked seamlessly as a team and everything went exactly as planned, it all just fell apart again. Jemma started walking around like a zombie. Skye kept catching Fitz absentmindedly weighing Icers in the palm of his hand, murmuring about adjusting the weight. May began vanishing into meetings, trying to stop the world from coming apart. And then Coulson just disappeared and nobody even went looking.

 

 

Skye did, of course. She used every avenue available to her. Every surveillance protocol. Every backchannel. But all she got was the distinct impression that Coulson was going out of his way not to be found. And then he strolled back into the base three weeks later like it was no big deal, with Ward at his side. He basically announced that Ward was back on the team as an independent contractor and that was it. No discussion.

 

 

Skye’s pretty sure that the arguments between May and Coulson could have been heard on the moon. May finally made the council vote on it. Skye’s not entirely sure who told Ward, but she knows he heard about the result. Heard that he was considered to be a prize asset, valuable for whichever side he chose.

 

 

She knows because his breath is hot on her neck as he braces his hands on the arms of the chair where she’s sitting, diligently looking for leads on Hydra, and absolutely not dwelling on the problem of Ward’s continued presence in her life. Skye’s not sure how she knows that it’s him. Her body just seems to be able to distinguish between people now. The fact that he’s the only person that she’s right about one hundred percent of the time doesn’t mean anything.

 

 

“Prize ass, huh, Skye? Didn’t know you still cared.” Ward’s voice over her shoulder, drifting across her skin, does nothing to her any more. The way that he says her name doesn’t affect her. She knows that if she tells herself enough times it’ll start to be true.

 

 

“About you being an ass?” Skye turns her head to give him her best insincere smile. It brings her mouth into disconcertingly close proximity to the stubble on his jaw. She can’t remember what else she was going to say.

 

 

“Yeah. Cause that’s what this is about.” Ward doesn’t sound like he’s joking any more, and Skye knows that she’s not ready for what he wants this conversation to be. She doesn’t know if she’s ever going to be ready.

 

 

“Here’s the thing, Ward.” Sky’s mouth is suddenly dry and it takes her longer than it should to get the words out. Longer still to pull her gaze from his, from all the things she can see there that she doesn’t want to believe. “I’m busy, and you’re distracting me. So be a good little soldier and run along to bother someone else.” With that Skye grabs her tablet and pulls her chair forwards, away from the heat of Ward’s body, curving over hers.

 

 

She can hear him chuckling under his breath as he leaves. If it weren’t for the fact that she can’t ever trust him again, she’d actually kind of like him. Skye takes a deep breath, pushes that thought down, and refocuses on the task at hand.

 

 

+

 

 

She should have known that this was going to happen. It seems as though she’s never going to catch a break sometimes. She’s also beginning to wonder if Coulson’s losing his mind. Because putting her and Ward undercover as a couple has got to be one of the worst ideas he’s ever had. Ward’s just standing there, shoulder propped against the wall, infuriating smirk on his face, as she tries to point out to Coulson what a truly terrible idea this is.

 

 

“Nobody’s going to believe it, Coulson. All we do is argue, and I don’t even _like_ him.” Skye’s aware that she sounds totally petulant, like a spoiled child, but that’s exactly how she feels. She’s pretty sure that the next words out of her mouth are going to be ‘ _it isn’t fair_ ’. She manages to bite her tongue before it happens.

 

 

“Honestly sweetheart, that’s really hurtful.” Ward pushes himself away from the wall, and approaches the table.

 

 

“Sweetheart? _Seriously_?” Skye’s not sure if she’s able to fully convey how unimpressed she is using actual words, but she’s fairly certain that her tone of voice speaks for itself.

 

 

“You’re right, _babe_. That’s really not us.” Ward grins at her, and it’s clear that the bastard is really enjoying himself. Skye’s fairly certain that she hears Coulson snort, but by the time she spins to face him there’s no hint of a smile on his face. Just a carefully neutral expression that’s somehow even more maddening.

 

 

“Skye, be reasonable.” Coulson’s using his dad voice, and that’s when Skye realizes that she doesn’t have an option here. This is happening whether she likes it or not. It doesn’t mean she’s not going down without a fight.

 

 

“Why should I? Just because Ward hasn’t screwed us over yet doesn’t mean he’s not going to.” Somehow, giving voice to her fears doesn’t make them any easier to deal with. “And why do we have to go in as a couple. We could be siblings or something.” Skye’s voice trails off at the skeptical look she gets from Coulson.

 

 

“I think it’s a great plan, sir.” Ward’s voice is dripping with insincerity, and there’s a brief moment where Skye thinks that maybe she’s not the only one who isn’t thrilled with this plan. Only, that’s ridiculous. Surely Ward wouldn’t turn down an opportunity to irritate her. “I’m sure that Skye’s really going to sell it for us.”

 

 

“Shut up, Ward.” Coulson’s words have no bite behind them, just a tired sort of resignation.

 

 

“Yes sir.” Somehow the way he says it doesn’t really convey a sense that he believes Coulson to be in any way in charge. Skye’s not sure how Coulson stands it. She sticks her tongue out at Ward for good measure. How is it that he has the power to turn her into a three year old these days?

 

 

“Coulson, come on. There must be another way to do this.” Skye’s sure that they could get into this party some other way, but Coulson seems set on making this happen.

 

 

“Sorry Skye. This is what works.” Coulson shrugs, and Skye’s suddenly reminded of the fact that he and May pulled this very same mission not so long ago.

 

 

“You don’t sound very sorry.” She’s basically accepted that this is an argument that she’s no longer going to win. But she has every intention of making her extreme annoyance felt.

 

 

“Well this is the job, Skye.” Coulson’s already distracted. Tapping away on his tablet and acting as though this isn’t a big deal. As though he’s not sending her into the field with only Ward as back-up. Not that Ward’s actually put a foot out of line since he came back. But still. He could do anything. Coulson looks up and sees the look on her face. He actually has the temerity to smile. “Sometimes we get given missions we don’t like very much.”

 

 

Skye’s sure that Ward’s probably smirking again.

 

 

“But undercover as a couple? It’s such a cliché.” Skye tries not to think about how, eighteen months ago, this would have been a dream assignment.

 

 

“That’s why it works. Now pick a dress.” Coulson waves a hand at the rack of clothing in the corner. Ward beams as Skye pulls out the lowest cut dress she can find. If this is going to happen, then she’s going to make him suffer.

 

 

+

 

 

There’s no surveillance. Skye’s not sure if it’s because Coulson doesn’t want any witnesses to her inevitable meltdown, or if it’s because he actually trusts that they’re going to get the job done. Skye tries to pretend that it doesn’t feel like every other time she and Ward have gone into the field together.

 

 

She changes in the bathroom. Spends as long as she can putting her make-up on, more than aware of the sounds of Ward moving around in the room. Their room. She tries not to think about the double bed. About the way Ward threw their bags onto it before slipping off his jacket. Suddenly all she can think about is how there was a moment in a hotel bar, a lifetime ago, when this was exactly what she wanted. Skye stares at herself in the mirror and adjusts her dress so that there’s a little more cleavage on display. It’s not to get a reaction from Ward. The dress just looks better like this. Skye pulls in a deep breath and steels herself for the mission before pulling the door open.

 

 

Ward’s wearing black suit pants. The sleeves of his shirt are rolled up to his elbows, and Skye realizes that it’s just a darker shade of the exact blue of her dress. He looks really good. And she absolutely hates him for that. He could at least have had the decency to pick a color that looks terrible on him. Skye decides that she’s going to ignore the fact that she chose her own dress. He probably did some sort of subliminal mind trick to ensure that she’d pick it.

 

 

But then Skye realizes that he’s staring at her. His eyes clearly following the neckline of her dress as it plunges down towards her waist. She sees him take a breath every bit as large as the one she needed before she threw the bathroom door open. It makes her feel remarkably better. In control.

 

 

“So have you finished making yourself look pretty?” Skye brushes past him as she says it, trying to ignore the fluttering in her stomach. It’s just normal pre-mission nerves. Nothing more.

 

 

“I don’t know Skye. You tell me.” Ward runs his hand across his chin. Across the stubble that’s so different to the clean-cut all-American hero façade he used to wear. Skye’s a big enough person to admit that it suits him.

 

 

“Fishing for compliments isn’t attractive Ward.” Skye picks up her evening bag and checks that she’s got everything she needs. Microtransmitter. Phone. Transdermal dendrotoxin patch. Which she’s going to use on Ward if he doesn’t stop staring at her.

 

“It was worth a try.” Ward turns and starts sliding various lethal looking implements into hidden sheaths on his person. Skye suddenly wonders if he’s this well armed when he’s on base with them. Ward catches her looking as he slides a small blade into the buckle of his belt. He shrugs in a manner that suggest he doesn’t mind that she’s looking. “You look beautiful, Skye.” He sounds completely sincere and it puts her off balance. Distracts her from the task at hand. From the mission.

 

 

“Shut up and hand me a knife.” Skye doesn’t need anything putting her off her game. The sooner they find out where the mark’s stashing his cache of alien tech, the sooner they can get out of here. She’s just grateful that all they have to do tonight is tag the guy. It should take less than five minutes and then she can get out of this stupid dress and get on with ignoring Ward.

 

 

“I love it when you talk dirty.” Ward’s smile is a suggestive as his tone as he hands her both a knife and the means to strap it to her thigh. Part of her wonders what he’d do if she just pulled her skirt up and stared him down as she fastened the leather straps against her skin. The rest of her knows that she’s already playing a dangerous game here.

 

 

“Can you stop?” Skye slips the knife into her bag. Takes the moral high ground.

 

 

“Can I?” Ward raises an eyebrow at her. Skye realizes, with a sinking feeling, that remaining on the moral high ground is going to be difficult. “Yes. Will I?” Ward pulls a face. “Probably not.”

 

 

“Let’s just get on with this, Ward.” Skye wonders if it would be bad form to fake an argument just so she can go and book a second room for the night. Her skin feels hot, electricity buzzing across her nerve endings with an unceasing hum. She feels as though she’s going to explode, and she’s almost sure that it’s all Ward’s fault.

 

“Whatever you say Skye.” Somehow he manages to make it sound as though he’s still the one in charge.

 

 

+

 

 

“You know, this would be a lot easier if you’d talk to me.” Ward passes her a glass of champagne, clinking his own against it and smiling at her as though he hasn’t a care in the world.

 

 

“I don’t really have anything to say.” Skye takes a sip of her drink. Then another. Seriously considers finishing the whole glass before realizing that she really needs to keep her head on straight. She knows that what she’s saying isn’t true. She’s fairly sure that Ward knows that too. That it’s exactly the opposite -- there’s just so much to say that she doesn’t know where to begin.

 

 

“Well, darling, unless we’re trying to convince these people that we’ve had the world’s biggest fight, you should probably pretend to like me.” Ward slides his hand around her waist and steps closer. He smells the same as always. Cinnamon and spice and dizzyingly familiar.

 

 

“That’s going to be difficult.” Skye smiles sweetly at him.

 

 

“You’ve done it before.” With that, he’s leading her onto the dance floor. It takes Skye a long moment to realize what he’s talking about. That he still thinks about that diner. He keeps doing this. Keeps making her think that he doesn’t care about anything except getting on her nerves, and then he’ll say something like this. Something that lets her know that maybe he does remember what he did to them. That maybe part of him does actually care. It’s infuriating.

 

 

And she should have known that the bastard could dance. They probably gave them lessons at the Academy. Skye uncharitably decides that it was probably part of Seduction 101. But Ward’s hands are on her bare skin, and there’s a sensation in her stomach that’s disconcertingly familiar, a low heat that only builds as Ward steps closer.

 

 

Ward’s murmuring a commentary in her ear. Telling her how many more steps until they turn. That their target’s over her left shoulder. How many people they have to navigate before they can get close enough for Skye to tag the man. That Skye’s the most beautiful woman in the room.

 

 

“What?” Skye’s been allowing herself to be lulled by his voice and the music. The sensation of his arms around her. For once, not worrying about the implications behind any of it. This is a mission and, finally, she can just play the part of the girl enjoying herself. She’s letting herself get distracted and she’s pretty certain she misheard.

 

 

“It was a compliment Skye. Remember those?” Ward’s grinning down at her, and she knows he’s doing this on purpose. She just doesn’t know why. Surely he can’t think that it’s going to be this easy to get her to forgive him. He can’t think that she really wants to. She doesn’t really want to believe it herself, even though she’s slowly beginning to realize that hating him doesn’t solve anything. It’s just making her miserable.

 

 

“I just don’t know why you’d bother.” Skye shrugs one shoulder at him. “It’s not like it changes anything, you saying it.”

 

 

“I just wanted you to know.” His voice is quiet and Skye avoids eye contact, knowing that she’s not going to be able to deal with what she sees there.

 

 

“You should stop talking now.” Skye focuses on Ward’s shoulder. There’s a dark smudge on his shirt and Skye realizes, with a sinking feeling, that it’s her lipstick. At least she’s selling the role.

 

“Whatever you want.” Ward doesn’t sound as though he’s going to be letting this go in a hurry. Fortunately their target chooses that moment to make his move. “Incoming.” Ward spins her directly into the path of the target as he says it. Skye stumbles against the man, deftly planting their tracker onto his jacket. She starts stammering out an apology, but then makes the mistake of looking into the man’s eyes. He’s handsome enough, but his eyes are cold and the curl of his lip is cruel as he rakes his eyes over her exposed skin. The chill that drifts across Skye’s skin is a dizzying counterpoint to the heat that was there, under Ward’s gaze, moments before.

 

 

Almost as though he knows she’s thinking about him Ward’s suddenly there. The comforting warmth of him a solid presence at her back.

 

 

“Sorry baby.” He murmurs it against her hair, his hands sliding up her arms and settling at her shoulders, pulling her against him. Skye’s still completely rigid in his arms. Her blood is ice water in her veins and she can’t remember what they’re supposed to do next. The man in front of her is staring at her as though he knows who she is. The cruelly calculating look in his eyes is familiar but she can’t place him. Can’t work out if she knows the person, or the promise of destruction that surrounds him, vibrating in the air. “Sorry, she’s always telling me that I get too into the dancing. Skye?” Ward actually sounds worried as he increases the pressure of his hands. She’s going to blow this. She’s going to get them caught.

 

 

Panic is the only reason she does it. She tears her gaze from the strangers face, using Ward’s touch on her skin to break the spell. Ward’s moving to her side, a seriously concerned look on his face, and she just needs to distract herself. That’s why she’s on her toes sliding her hands around his neck, and pressing her lips to his. Ward’s reaction is electrifying. As though this is the one moment he’s been waiting for.

 

 

She hasn’t forgotten the way he kisses. She can feel, more than hear, the soft moan he makes as she presses herself up against him. It’s everything she remembers, his lips insistent on hers, his tongue licking up into her mouth. He tastes like champagne and _need_ and _desire_ , and Skye can feel the scratch of his stubble under her fingers as she slides her hand under his jaw. His hands tangle in her hair, pulling her closer, and he growls into her mouth as she dips one hand under his belt, her fingers touching the curve of his ass. Skye pulls his hips against hers, a jolt of desire shooting straight to her clit as she feels Ward’s dick, firm against her hip.

 

 

Skye’s suddenly aware of someone clearing their throat in close proximity to her right ear. The world comes crashing back in, and she pushes Ward away, leaving him gasping in empty air. She tries to pretend that her heart isn’t racing, that her cunt isn’t wet with desire, that the look on Ward’s face isn’t everything she’s been missing. She forces herself to focus around the white noise blasting in her skull, and realizes that she and Ward have been making a very public spectacle of themselves.

 

 

The waiter at her elbow opens his mouth, and Skye braces for the humiliation of being asked to leave. For, of all things, kissing Ward. She’s not sure what she’ll say to Coulson. How she’ll tell him that they have to find somewhere else to stay because she got overly enthusiastic about selling the cover story. The one good thing is that the target’s on the other side of the room, speaking to someone that Skye recognizes as a business acquaintance from the file she has memorized. They might be getting chastised by the staff, and potentially asked to leave the building, but at least their cover isn’t blown.

 

 

“Sorry.” Ward’s voice is husky. There’s an echo of barely contained desire that makes her stomach twist with anticipation. She needs to get it together. This is just a job. Ward offers the man a shaky smile, running his hand through his hair. Skye wonders if he knows that it’s already standing up in a dozen different directions. Can’t quite believe that it’s because of her. “We just got engaged.” Ward offers a shaky grin to the man. Despite herself, Skye’s actually impressed at how well he’s selling this act.

 

 

“Well perhaps you might like to celebrate somewhere that isn’t the dancefloor, monsieur.” The waiter’s tone softens slightly, and Skye’s forced to admit that the whole undercover as newlyweds thing does have its merits after all.

 

 

“You’re not wrong.” With that Ward gives the man a triumphant grin. Skye barely has time to roll her eye’s before Ward’s seizes her by the hand, practically dragging her off the dancefloor and out of the room. “You did it?” Ward doesn’t even look at her as he speaks.

 

 

“What?” Skye can’t seem to stop staring at the point where the back of his shirt has come untucked from his trousers. She can’t quite believe that she let herself get so out of control.

 

 

“You planted the tracker?” Ward slows as they reach the elevators, half turning to look at her. His hair’s still a mess, and she doesn’t remember his eyes being this dark. “It looked like it went well, but are you sure it’s secure?” He’s staring at her as though he’s asking her to explain the secrets of the universe. Skye’s got no idea what he’s trying to communicate to her. She just wants this all to be over. To be somewhere that isn’t so confusing. She can still taste him on her tongue.

 

 

“Yes, Ward, it’s secure.” Skye narrows her eyes at him. Irritation she can do. She’s been playing that role for so long that it’s becoming second nature. “I can do my job you know.”

 

 

“Yeah.” His expression softens into a gentle smile. She’s so used to seeing a challenging smirk on his face that she’d almost forgotten the way that his smile makes her feel. Something twists in her chest, and Skye suddenly finds herself struggling to breath past the lump in her throat. “I never doubted it.”

 

 

Skye swallows hard and goes to hit the button to call the elevator. That’s when she realizes that she’s still holding his hand. Or that he’s still holding hers. She feels as though it’s an important distinction to make. Skye untangles her fingers and reaches out to push the button. She doesn’t miss the warmth of his touch.

 

 

Ward steps back and gestures to her that she should get in first. It’s not until the doors slide smoothly closed behind them that Skye realizes that she should probably have insisted that they take the stairs. Her heart’s still hammering uncomfortably against her chest, and she can’t stop thinking about the way that Ward’s mouth felt on hers. Can’t stop imagining his hands peeling her dress from her shoulders. Skye decides that the safest thing to do is avoid all eye contact. Only the elevator’s lined with mirrors and, everywhere she looks, there’s what feels like a million versions of Ward staring at her.

 

 

 

It wouldn’t be so bad if it didn’t feel as though he knows exactly what she’s thinking. He reaches up and undoes a third button at the collar of his shirt. Skye doesn’t question the fact that she _knows_ it’s the third. She can’t help watching out of the corner of her eye as he untucks his shirt, finishing the job that she started downstairs. Skye sees his head start to turn to face hers and quickly looks the other way. All she sees his him smoothing down his hair, one corner of his mouth hitching up as he catches her looking. She stares straight ahead again, but she can still see him grinning. Her skin feels as though there’s electricity sparking across it, every inch of her body only too aware of Ward’s gaze. She feels as though she can’t breathe, as though her body’s on fire, burning up the oxygen from the air and making her heart pound.

 

 

She curses Ward under her breath for getting them a room on one of the highest floors. Who gives a shit about the view anyway. She’s sure it’s just his fucking excuse to make her suffer through the longest and most awkward elevator ride in existence. He probably knew that this would happen. Skye tries her hardest to pretend that she didn’t have any other options. That throwing herself at Ward was the only way to take her mind off the unpleasant energy coming from a complete stranger. She’s finally saved by the doors sliding open, but then she remembers that they’re sharing a room. For the cover. She wonders how this became her life.

 

 

Skye can feel Ward’s eyes on her back as she storms off down the corridor. She’s fairly sure that she hears him laugh, but by the time she’s finished rummaging in her bag for the keycard he’s looking at her with nothing more than a hint of a smile on his face. Skye hopes that the way she narrows her eyes at him before slamming the card against the reader is enough to tell him that she’s really not in the mood for any of his bullshit.

 

 

The room seems smaller than it did before they went downstairs. Before Skye allowed herself to be reminded of all the ways that Ward is able to get so thoroughly under her skin. She deliberately positions hereself so that she doesn’t have to look at him, searching through her bag for something a little less revealing than this dress. She turns around only to find Ward leaning against the wall, effectively blocking her passage to the bathroom.

 

 

He doesn’t so much as move an inch as she gestures to him that she needs him to get out of the way. She considers just pushing past him, but she doesn’t know that she trusts herself to touch him at the moment. She can feel a blush starting to stain her cheeks as her body betrays her yet again. Skye steels herself and raises her eyes to his. She’s determined to get this over and clear the air. He needs to know that it’s not happening again. That she can’t afford to let it.

 

 

“Stop looking at me like that.” Skye doesn’t have time to worry about the fact that it comes out sounding a lot more like a plea than a demand. She clears her throat and tries again. “I mean it.” It’s better. This time she can hear the determination.

 

 

  
“Like what?” Ward’s not actually smiling any more, which confuses her. She feels wrong-footed. As though he’s somehow changing the rules of the game.

 

  
  
“As though you want to make out with me again.” Skye’s not sure how it slips out. She supposes that it’s just because she keeps playing the moment on a loop in her head. She’s been trying so hard to forget everything that made her care about him in the first place and now it just feels as though months of work are unraveling due to her own carelessness. She needs to stop this before she can’t. “It’s just a mission, Ward.” She doesn’t finish the sentence. Just leaves the words there, hanging in the air between them.

 

  
“Not for me.” Ward takes a step towards her as he says it. She can see the way his brow creases. She used to think that it was adorable, the way he frowned when he was sincere, desperate to get his point across. But now she’s always going to wonder if it was real. She can’t let herself believe that any of this is the truth, even if it feels as though it can’t possibly be anything else. It’s going to hurt too much if he lets her down. “Skye?” He’s standing right in front of her now, almost close enough to touch. “This has always been personal for me.” His voice is quiet. It’s so different from the way he’s been acting since he got back, all sarcastic comments and snide retorts.

 

  
“Shut up.” Skye doesn’t want to hear this. She remembers the last time Ward tried to apologize, the way that she shut him down. The way that she couldn’t bear to hear the sincerity in his voice. She wondered, then, if she was the reason why he left. Before she decided that she didn’t care. That she couldn’t afford to.

 

  
“What do you want from me, Skye?” Ward doesn’t even sound that frustrated, more genuinely curious. As though he thinks that there’s any way he can make up for what he did. It’s not about whether or not she can forgive him, it’s if she can risk trusting him again. “I don't know how many other ways I can show you that I'm trying.” He allows exasperation to bleed into his voice, and Skye can’t handle it any more. He’s too close. Too sincere. His voice is too raw with emotion. She can feel the honesty coming off him in waves and it’s just, suddenly, all too much.

 

  
“You _are_ trying. Trying my fucking nerves.” Skye turns her back to him, tries to ignore the fact that it’s just the two of them in this tiny room. She drops her clothes back into her bag, clenching her fists as she tries desperately to get a grip on the powers that she can feel coming to life in her blood.

  
  
“Hey, I'm just trying to have an honest conversation.” This time she can hear the smile in his voice and she knows that he’s doing it on purpose. There’s no way that she’s letting him play out the same conversation, hoping for a different outcome.

 

  
“I'm going to scream if you don’t stop talking, Ward.” Skye can see her bottle of perfume start to judder its way along the dresser as she begins to lose control. Skye tries desperately to reign it in. To pretend that what Ward’s saying isn’t getting to her. But she’s learned this lesson, and she knows that bottling it up isn’t going to help. It’s almost a relief to let her anger go. “I know you’re sorry Ward, but you broke my fucking heart, and I am still so mad at you.” She spins to face him, one hand outstretched towards him. She’s got no idea what she’s doing, if she’s going to do to him what she once tried to do to Raina. It’s as though he doesn’t even notice. He just takes another step forward, until she can feel his heartbeat through the thin cotton of his shirt, it’s slow and steady and she knows, then, that he’s already worked it out. “It’s so much easier when I don’t have to see your face.” Skye drops her arm to her side. Away from temptation.

 

  
“Or when you shoot me?” He raises an eyebrow at her, a slow smile spreading across his face. She can’t understand why he never acts as though her powers aren’t something that could kill him.

 

  
“Yes. Or then.” Skye’s never going to apologize for it. Never going to be sorry for doing what she thought she had to do in that moment.

 

  
“I'm kind of over getting shot to be honest.” Ward shrugs, as though it’s not even a big deal. As though he’s not even bothered by what she did to him not that long ago.  
  


“Well, you’ve always got other options these days. I could shatter your bones or stop your heart now.” Skye flashes him an insincere smile, expecting him to take a step back. But that’s the problem with Ward these days, he’s never doing what she expects. He laughs.  
  


“Yeah, that's pretty awesome.” He sounds happy for her. As though he honestly believes that this is just another weapon in her arsenal. As if she isn’t something to be feared. It’s disconcerting.

 

  
“You are _so_ not who I thought you were.” Skye’s not sure if she means it as a compliment or not. But she’s finding it hard to concentrate now that her anger seems to have deserted her. It’s hard to focus on anything other than the way Ward’s staring at her, as though she’s got the secrets of the universe hidden under her skin.

 

  
“Well that's a relief.” This time he smirks.

 

 

“I’m still mad.” Skye tries to put some heat behind the words. She tries to pretend that nothing’s changed. That she didn’t irrevocably alter the rules of the game when she kissed him. Her body’s already telling her what her brain is refusing to believe. She’s already forgiven him.

 

  
“I know you are, Skye. I get it.” Ward says her name carefully, as though it’s worth more to him than anything else. He’s closing the distance between them again, and all Skye can think about is the way that his skin felt under her fingers. The way that he moaned her name like she was all he ever wanted. The way that her cunt, already wet, throbs with anticipation as he steps closer.

 

  
  
“Ward, you need to stop talking.” Skye’s not sure why she doesn’t just tell him to stop everything. Why she doesn’t order him out of the room until she’s managed to calm down enough to address this like a rational human being. She already knows that this is a terrible idea. That it’s probably going to end badly. Her fingers are reaching for the buttons of his shirt even as she’s trying to talk herself out of this.

 

  
  
“Well, Skye, here’s the thing,” Ward drifts a finger up the expanse of skin that her dress has left exposed. She shivers as he slides his hand under the fabric, his hand stopping just under her breast. “I told you that I wasn’t ever going to lie to you again.” His smile is dangerous. Full of promise and hope and a thousand other things that Skye never thought she’d him to associate with her again. She can’t help it though, the delight that drifts across her skin, shooting like quicksilver through her blood.

 

  
“Do you want to kiss me?” Skye’s not sure why she asks. She already knows what the answer’s going to be. Ward doesn’t hesitate though, just slides his other hand around her waist, pulling her closer and leaning down so that his breath tickles the skin of her neck.  


 

“Yes.” His mouth touches her neck at the same time that his hand, the one that’s been lying right over her heart, starts moving again. She can feel the calluses on his hands, rough against her skin as he flicks his thumb across her nipple. Skye can’t quite manage to hold back her moan at the jolt of desire that races through her as he scrapes his teeth across her skin.

 

  
  
“Do you want to fuck me?” Skye barely recognizes her own voice. Lust and challenge competing with a desperate need that she’s trying so hard to hide.

 

  
“Always.” Ward pulls his head away from her skin as he says it, both hands sliding up underneath her jaw, forcing her to look at him. She can see it, written on his face, all the apologies she’s refused to hear. All the times she’s walked away without waiting to hear him out. She can’t quite work out how, after everything, he still feels the same. She wonders if even tried to fight it, or if he always knew that it would end up like this.

 

  
“Show me how sorry you are and I'll think about letting you.” She throws it at him, a challenge that she knows he’s not going to be able to resist.

  


“Seems fair.” Ward ducks his head, and pauses for a moment, his eyes scanning her face. Skye dimly registers the freckles that scatter his cheeks, the thing scar that arcs across his right cheekbone and the gold that flashes in his eyes before he’s pressing his mouth to hers. There’s a moment where Skye has enough time to wonder if it’s always going to be like this. If the taste of him, burnt sugar and spice, is always going to be intoxicating. If she’s ever going to feel like it’s enough.

 

 

Ward’s hands trail white-hot flames across her skin, stoking a fire that’s already racing out of control, and she’s not sure if either of them are going to survive the fallout. Before she’s even fully aware of what he’s doing, she feels his hands under her ass, picking her up and pulling her up against him. She’s not sure which of them groans as she shifts her hips, grinding down onto his cock, the scent of her own arousal already heavy in the air. He spins them, depositing her on the desk behind them. Skye knows that it’s her dissatisfied moan that echoes off the walls as he pulls his mouth away from her, leaving her gasping in empty air.

 

 

“If I’m honest, you don’t seem particularly sorry.” Skye’s proud of the fact that she manages to get the whole sentence out in one breath.

 

 

“I’m only just getting started.” Ward’s voice drifts across her skin, ripe with promise. He smiles, eyes fixed on hers, as he pulls her skirt up over her knees. His hands are gentle as he moves them higher, sliding them up the smooth expanse of her leg. Skye almost forgets how to breathe as his fingers reach the crease of her thigh. He leans forward and presses a soft kiss to her forehead as she feels his fingers hooking into the waistband of her underwear.

 

 

Skye doesn’t even think about it, just lifts her hips at his urging, bracing herself on her hands to let him pull her panties down her thighs. Her head drops backwards and she feels the scrape of his stubble across her jaw, the warmth of a line of kisses being pressed against her breastbone. His mouth drifts lower, and Skye lifts her head, watching as he drops to his knees at her feet.

 

 

Ward doesn’t take his eyes off her face as he pushes her thighs wider, his arms hooking under her legs and pulling her hips to the edge of the desk. His earlier smile has gone, replaced by an intensity that steals her breath. She realizes that he’s waiting for her to tell him that this is what she wants. That he’s what she wants. She’s refuses to give him the satisfaction, just nudges his shoulder with her heel, trying to pull him closer. He just shakes his head at her.

 

 

“Ward, come on.” Skye feels as though she’s at a slight disadvantage. She, after all, is the one that’s half naked. She sees his lips twitch as she says it and flashes him a look that she hopes conveys just how irritated she feels that he managed to get her to say anything. “You know, you’re only hurting yourself here. Every time you annoy me there’s just going to be more apologizing to do.

 

 

“That’s kind of the point.” Ward’s grin is utterly unrepentant and, this time, he scrapes his teeth along her inner thigh, the scratch of his stubble enough to make a whimper escape Skye before she manages to catch it. She feels the hot exhale of his laughter against her cunt and she obnoxiously pushes her hips towards him. Ward doesn’t falter, just hooks one arm around her thigh, holding her steady, before parting her slick folds with his fingers and sucking down onto her clit.

 

 

Skye arches against him, thrusting her hips against his face, and his mouth settles against her cunt, his tongue fucking up into her. She forgets any qualms she may have had about this, any ideas that this might not be the smartest way to prove that she doesn’t care. Skye gives in to the sensation of his mouth against her, for once not thinking about anything but the present.

 

 

She can’t help it, a jumble of nonsense spilling from her mouth, his name punctuated by gasps every time he does something that she really likes. He’s a quick study, his teeth scraping against her clit with increasing pressure, his grip on her hips loosening as she fights his hold, fucking his mouth as he eats her out. Skye actually growls her displeasure as he moves his mouth away, and she looks down to find him grinning up at her, his eyes dancing and his mouth wet with her. Skye stares for three long heartbeats, fighting her own smile, before she finally gives in. He barely has time to see it before she runs her fingers through his hair and pulls his head roughly back against her cunt. She can feel his surprised huff of laughter against her skin.

 

 

Ward’s tongue pushes firmly against her sensitive flesh, and she feels him move one arm away from her legs. Seconds later she feels his fingers deftly slipping inside her, and pressure starts to build in her stomach as he pushes her closer to the edge. Her back arches as he scrapes his teeth across her clit, skillful fingers and quick tongue working at her as she chases her own release. Energy starts to build, coiled tight at the base of her spine and then Ward growls her name against her clit, his fingers pushing deeper inside her, and Skye feels her orgasm race through her, her vision flaring bright white as Ward’s fingers keep moving against her.

 

 

Skye shifts slightly, pulling her hips away from Ward, the sensation finally becoming too much for her. She somehow manages to muster up the courage to force her eyes open and look at him. He’s not looking at her, absentmindedly running one hand through his hair, and seemingly oblivious to the fact that he hasn’t bothered wiping his jaw. Skye’s not sure if she should be offended.

 

 

“I’m up here, you know.” Skye’s throat feels raw, as though she’s been screaming, but she’s sure that can’t be right.

 

 

“Trust me, Skye, I know exactly where you are.” When he looks up at her Skye stops worrying that he might have lost interest all of a sudden. He looks as though he’s planning something outrageous. She remembers that look. She loves that look. “I’m just wondering if your legs are shaking too much to get you to the bed unaided, or if I’m going to have to carry you.”

 

 

“You know what, Ward?” Skye pauses, eyebrows raised as she waits for a response. Ward obligingly shakes his head at her. “Your apologies could really use a little work.”

 

 

“So you’re telling me I need more practice?” Ward has apparently given up all pretense that he’s not having the time of his life. His smirk is nothing short of sinful as Skye reaches down and twists her hand in the collar of his shirt. He’s looking up at her -- all lust and hunger and eager anticipation -- and Skye realizes that she should have known that this was what he wanted all along. He’s moving almost before she pulls insistently on his collar, her intentions abundantly clear. He settles back between her thighs, his breath hot on her thigh as he kisses his way towards her cunt.

 

 

“Now he gets it.” Skye grins as he laughs.


End file.
